Georgia Bio has announced the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA) as a recipient of its 2018 Deal of the Year Award. The award is one of the 20th annual Georgia Bio Health Impact Awards celebrating the contributions and achievements of Georgia individual and company leaders working to advance the growth of the life sciences industry and foster strategic partnerships that can create a healthier world.

Georgia Bio award winners in seven categories will be announced at the 2018 Georgia Bio Life Sciences Health Impact Awards Ceremony and Gala, February 15, 2018 from 6 to 9 pm at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. Learn more and register at www.gabio.org/awards.

In 2017, after a decade of research collaboration supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Emory-led Atlanta Clinical & Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) changed its name to the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA), reflecting a new statewide focus. Founding academic partners Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology welcomed the University of Georgia as a fourth academic partner.

The NIH awarded the Georgia CTSA a $51 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) to focus on transforming the quality and value of clinical research and translating results into better outcomes for patients. Georgia CTSA programs focus on improving quality, efficiency, and collaboration of the research process; provide consultative support and new tools in bioinformatics and biostatistics; and pilot funding for new research projects, training, and workforce development, while integrating special populations focusing on participant interactions and creating local centers tackling clinical trial inefficiencies.

"The Georgia CTSA creates a unique opportunity for synergy among historic partners in health care, education, and cutting-edge research, and has emerged as an innovative and integrated environment where clinical and translational researchers can flourish," says W. Robert Taylor, MD, PhD, contact principal investigator of the Georgia CTSA and professor of medicine and director of the Division of Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine. The Georgia CTSA is a catalyst and incubator for clinical and translational research across the state, with impacts throughout the Southeast and nation."

Georgia CTSA is one of more than 50 Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) at major academic medical centers across the country, funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Science, and is the only CTSA in Georgia. Georgia CTSA collaborates with the Grady Health System, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Bio, and multiple community medical groups throughout the state to improve health care for Georgia citizens.

Along with Taylor, the Georgia CTSA is led by principal investigators Elizabeth O. Ofili, MD, MPH, professor of cardiology, senior associate dean of clinical and translational research, and director of the Clinical Research Center at Morehouse School of Medicine; Andrés J. García, PhD, Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair and Regents’ Professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Bradley G. Phillips, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, Millikan-Reeve Professor and Head of clinical and administrative pharmacy, College of Pharmacy at the University of Georgia; and Henry M. Blumberg, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Emory University.

“We are excited to recognize the individuals and organizations improving and saving lives worldwide through their health care innovations and leadership here in Georgia,” says Russell Allen, president and CEO, Georgia Bio. “As the association representing medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology in Georgia, we look forward to bringing the sector together on February 15 for an evening of networking and celebration.”

Georgia Bio is the state’s life science advocacy and business leadership industry association whose members include pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, medical centers, universities and research institutes, government groups, and other business organizations involved in the development of life sciences related products and services. Georgia Bio works closely with industry, government, academia, and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies, and grow Georgia’s life sciences economy.